Single automatic rotary bottle crowner



May 23, 1933.

J. J. GAY'NOR vSINGLE AUTOMATIC ROTARY BOTTLE CROWNERS Filed Feb. 20,1930 2 Sheets-Sheet /A/ VEA) roe, da/7 d fai/701, @im

May 123, 1933.

J. J. G AYNOR4 SINGLE AUTOMATIC ROTARY BOTTLE CROWNERS Filed Feb. 20,1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mm. m

ma O. 4 d IW. d@ 6 Patented May 23, 1933 UNITED 4s'rares .JQHN J-GAYNOR, or @nummers SINGLE AUTOMATIC ROTARY BQglTLE GROWNER Applicationled February 20, 1930. Serial No. 423,@47.

This invention relates to the art ofbottle cappers, and particularly toa unitary device capable of being attached toa bottle filling machine.

.5 An important object of this invention is to provide a simpleeflicient mechanism that may be .attached to a bottle filling machine invery close proximity to the discharge point of the machine whereby thebottles filled l0 thereby are capped at once uponleaving the bottlefilling machine so as to practically eliminate the exposurev to theairor the cooling of the contents after theV filling operation iscompleted.

lAnether important object .resides in the provision of a capping devicethatmay be operated directly fromV the filling machine in timed sequencetherewith and that isadapted, through minonchanges, to be yapplied tothe0 various makes of. filling machines previously built.

Further objects reside in the extreme simplicity of the Ideviceand intheparticular details.' of the cap attaching members, promot- 225 inglong life and low cost of production.

VAThese and other objects .will become apparent the followingdescription of the invention as shown in one particular form by theaccompanying drawings, in which F ig. 1l isa fragmentary side elevationof a bottle filling machine with my invention applied thereto;

F ig.2 a front elevation of the bottle capper .with parts of thesupportingy frame workre- 35 moved to v`disclose the lin teriorconstruction;

Fig. 3a transverse section fon the line 3f- .3 inFe 2;

Fig. 4 a transverse section on the lined- 4: in ,Fis 2;

Fig. 5 a fragmentary side elevation of Capping head;

Fig.6 aV transverse section on the line f in Fig. 5; i

Fig. 7 a transverse section on the line 7-7 in Fie 5; and

Fig. 8V a vertical section on` an venlarged scale on the line 8-,e8 inFig. 5.

`Lilie characters of reference indicate like parts `rthrpughout theseveral views inthe 50 drawings.

4 0 the The customarily employed bottle .filling machine to which myinventionis attached has a ,helzeatallyrotatestable 1l fwthla spur gearl2therearound A bottles i3 are .carriedjanound thetable V 5 are raisedlby thevshafts' 14 tothe. filling plositions and then lowered landcarried faround where a bfingerllr directs the bottlesfroinlyof thetable. U'ReferriI-lg to'Fig'. 4,`a rotating disc `1,6 carries thebottles lontothe tablejvbne- -.6 0 tween the guides '17 and 18 topositionthe bottles ,onelat a. time on thecarrersl) on `the shafts 14..The tablel here shownisre .volvedin aclockwise direction.

New,` in place `of the usualconveyor v (not r6.5 shQwn)lis'eewlyfmployed to carry vthe lled `bottles away the 'interceptinglinger '15, I position my @aprilie .dv which supported bythe frameQOlwhichis somountedasto .carryfaspur gear 251Qto. he 7.0 meshed withthe table gear The gear v2 1 is in consta, t, mejshwth the. gear 22fined, on `Ithe..inertica-l shaftj23, Fig. 2'. n .Thwhaft 2.3 alsocarries asperger 254 thereon jnst .above the. gear @Zand mesh 1.5 withthe spurk gear 25fivhich is fined onthe shaft26. .Theupperend oftheshaft 26 has abottle carrier 27'fixed, thereon with@ rib 28pffejectasrilpvanly @retain the bottle 13 in an eccentric ,positicn onthe carrier 27. Fa-0 The. shaft 26 rextends vdowinjvardly and car'- riesa bevel gear 29 near its lowerendiin mesh With thegear 5,0w which isfixed on the trans.- verse Ishaft 3&1. The outerrend -of the fshaft 3lcarries acrank Aarm 32150 lWhichfis reeki825 ably attached theyconnectingrgd '33 yby the cap Screw 3 4- vThis rod $13 hasa compressionspring Yslidingly `slipped thereover v.with its llower .endbearnslaearlst the adjusting .nut .36 screwthreadedly carried .on therod 133. tubei? telescopieally. lits over'the upperend of the rod 433with ...a slidingfit Iand .ported verticallyL thereon byresting on fthewasher 38 pressing against .the .upperendfof .95 thelspring 35. Thetravelof the tube x37 yon thema sa is limited by a. riversa xed in therod and slidingly passingfthrough" slots Mandel in thetubeb-y its ends.f Thespring normally permits the. rivet', 39. t0 rmaillit fm the lowerends of the slots and 41 as indicated in Fig. 1 and 2.

The upper end of the tube 37 is pivotally secured to the outer arm ofthe lever 42 which is rockably supported by the frame 20. rl`he otherend of the lever 42 is bifurcated to pass around the shaft 23 and engagethe collar 43 which is screw-threadedly carried on the vertical headshaft 44. This shaft 44 has its upper end rotatably guided by thehorizontal member 45 of the frame 20 and extends vertically therebeyondslidingly through the spur gear 46 and on up into operative connectionwith the cap hopper 47. The hopper 47 is of the usual construction wellknown Vto thosev versed in the art and its detailed construction is,therefore, not shown. The shaft 44 has a keyway 48 along one side toreceive the keyl 49 as carried bythe gear 46, and a gear 50 on the upperend of the shaft 23 is in constant mesh with the gear 46 so that theshaft 44 may be revolved by the gear 46 as the shaft 44'may slide up anddown therethrough.

On the lower end of the shaft 44, is mounted a capping head 51 which hasa vertical bore 52 therethrough on an axis removed from the center ofthe head. This bore 52 is of three dierent diameters, having a smalldiameter at the upper end serving as a guide for the upper end of theplunger rod 53; an increased central diameter to receive freely thereinthe compression spring 54; and the largest diameter at the bottom intowhich is fitted a throat ring 55. The internal diameter of the upperpart of the ring 55 is less than that of the bore thereabove so that'thetop surface of the ring 55 forms a stop against which'the ring 7 5 onthe plunger rod '53 may rest as directed 40 by the compression spring 54pressing thereon from above. The ring has a vsliding fit in the bore 52.The internal diameter of the throat ring 55 is increased toward thebottom to give the inner wall a nine degree slope from lthe axis. A head56 freely projects from the end of the rod 53 to within the throat ring55 4and has its under side normally in the plane of the under side lofthe throat ring 55. j A cap ring 57 is fitted into' the lower end of thebore 52 to bear against the under side of the throat ring 55 and isthere secured by the retaining nut 58 which is screw-threadedly engagedinthe bore 52. This nut 58 is essentially a ring with its inner wallsflaring outwardly. The internal diameter of the cap ring 57 immediatelybelow the throat ring 55 exceeds that of the throat ring and is ofsuflicient size to receive therein a cap 59. The lower portion of thering 57 has a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the upperportion in order to form an annular shoulder GOtherearound on which theVcap 59 may rest. This cap ring 57 is cut through from one side theupper portion soy as to permit a cap 59 to be slide horizontally throughthat opening and onto the shoulder 60. A key 61 on the side of the ring57 fits into a corresponding keyway found in the bore 52 to preventrotation of the ring 57 therein.

The lower end of the head 51 has an annular circumferential groove 62formed therein and an opening is cut through horizontally from thisgroove 62 to communicate with the side opening in said cap ring 57. Fromthe hopper 47, extends a cap conductor tube 63 with suitable hingejoints therein. The lower end of this tube 63 is curved around anddirected toward the opening through the groove 62 and Vthere maintainedby means of the yoke arms 64 and 65 slidingly engaging with in thegroove 62; and the pin 66 extending 4from the arm 64 into a verticalguide in the bracket 67 which is fixed to the frame 20. The bracket 67also carries a guide 68 through which the head 51 may reciprocatevertically.

As the bottles 13 are intercepted in their travel with the table 11 oneat a time by the finger 15, a bottle 13 is positioned on the carrier 27against the rib 28. rl`he carrier 27 is constantly rotated in timedsequence through the train of gears 25, 24, 22, and 21 as driven by thefilling machine table gear 12. The capping head 51 is also constantlyrotated in timed sequence with the carrier 27 through the gears 46 and50, shaft 23, and gears 22 and 21 by the lgear 12. The vertical Vaxis ofthe bore 52 through the head 51 concides with the vertical axis of thebottle 13 when positioned on the carrier 27 against the rib 28, thecommon axis being at a distance from the common center of rotation ofboth the head 51 and the carrier 27.y

VSince the' crank arm 32 is continually revolved by means ofthehorizontal shaft 31 gear driven directly from the shaft 26, the rod33 is reciprocated vertically to in turn, through the intermediate`members, lower and raise the head 51. The vertical reciprocation of thehead 51 is timed so that as soon as the bottle 13 is brought onto thecarrier, Ythe head 51 is lowered to perform the capping operation andthen raised to clear the bottle bythe time the bottle has been carriedaround by the carrier 27 to bring the bottle t into Contact with Vthestop finger 74, from which position the bottle may be removed by hand orby a conveyor (not shown). On the'up stroke of the head 51, a cap 59discharges from the lower end of the tube or chute 63 through the lsideopening into the cap ring 57 to be ready for the following down stroke.The lower end of the chute 63 is positioned at the propercircumferential locationY to have the opening into the cap ring 57arrive at the proper time during its horizontal rotation to receive acap therein while the head'l51 is being raised. yShould a cap 59 be inthe ring 57 when the opening is presented to the chute end, a cap fromthe chute cannot enter by reason of the obstructing cap already therepresent and the head ma continue revolving as before.

aps are fed down the chute 63 from the hopper 47 on edge and the lowerend of the chute 63 is curved around to present the caps '59 to the head51 right side up in a horizontal plane. Normally the cap at the lowerend of the chute 63 bears against the bottom of the groove 62 as itrevolves therepast.

Referring now more particularly to the application of the cap 59 to thebottle 13, as the head 51 is lowered with a cap 59 resting in the capring 57, the nut 58 passes with considerable clearance over the mouth ofthe bottle and the cap 59 is brought down to contact the mouth. The cap59, by continued downward travel of the head 51, is immediatelycontacted from above by the plunger head 56 which serves to steady thecap and maintain it in a horizontal position over the bottle mouth. Asthe head 51 continues downward, the spring 54 yields to permit the cap59 to enter withinand be pushed upwardly into the throat ring 55thereupon, by reason of the tapered wall of the ring 55, the lateralprojecting corrugated lip of the cap 59 is pressed vertically downwardsto carry the depressions of the lip corrugations around under the bottlemouth lip at which time the head 51 has completed its down travel andstarts upwardly.

Now, as the head 51 is withdrawn from over the bottle 13, the spring 54returns to its normal position forcing the head 56 down to eject the cap59, now secured onV the bottle, from the throat ring 55, and, since theannular lip of the cap 59 has been turned downwardly, the cap ring 57 iscarried on up over and above the cap 59 without the shoulder 60 strikingthe cap. The initial height of the head 51 above the bottle 13 isadjustable by means of varying the'position of the collar 43 along theshaft 44 in order that bottles of varying heights may be accommodatedthereunder. Also, to provide for slight variations in heights ofbottles, and to prevent breakage, the rod 33 yieldingly pushes the tube37 through the spring 35 which is sufciently strong to position the cap59 on the bottle normally befor-e the rivet 39 reaches the upper end ofthe slots 40 and 41 to positively force the tube 37 upwardly.

It is to be seen from the foregoing description of the structure andoperation of my invention that I have provided a single rotar bottlecapper wherein the bottles are cappe one at a time while in motion fromthe filling machine. By the close proximity of my capper to the fillingmachine, which is permitted because of its unique construction, Iprevent the heretofore loss of carbonio gas from carbonated beverages,the loss of heat from canned goods such as catsup and the like, or theentrance of bacteria from the air, to a degree not attainable where thebottles or. containers must befcar'ried to anindependent'ly-'operatedcapp'er remove'dfrom the filling machine.

While Ihave here shown anddescribe'd my invention' in the one form asnow bestE known tome, it is obvious that' many struc-v tured changes maybe made theref'rom'withL out' departingifrom the spiritf of theinvention, and I, therefore, do not desire to be limited'to that formnor any more than-may be required by the following claims.

I claim: f

1. Inga bottlecapping unit,a horizontally rotatable bottle carrier, ahorizontally ro` tatable capping head, ay driving gear, gear meansbetween said driving gear, said carrier andisaidhead causing.- saidcarrier' andhe'ad tobe revolved simultaneously at' the same speed uponrotation ofv the driving gear, a' rock' shaft* operated' fromE saiddriving gear for' lowering andraising said head once during'each'revolution ofthe carrier, said head' have a vertical bore eccentricof the head axis, a throatI ring c'arried'in the bore, a cap-ring belowthe throat ring,and a plunger head normally projecting into the throatring, said cap ring having a part of one side removed to permit caps tobe' movedhorizontally therethrough, a shoulder within the cap ringnormally supporting a cap, and a cap supply chute having its lower endfixed and abutting against the circumferential side of the said head,said head having an opening registering with the opening into said capring and adapted to register with the end of said chute.

2. In a bottle capping unit, a single rotatable bottle carrier, a singlecapping head revolvably mounted on a common axis above said carrier,gear means for revolving in unison said carrier and said head each aboutits individual axis, a head raising and lowering rod, means foractuating said rod upon rotation of said carrier, and a capping plungerin said head mounted in a bore therein eccentric of the head axis.

3. In a bottle capping unit adapted to be attached to a bottle fillingmachine having a horizontally rotatable table and a ring gear about thetable, a single capping head, a shaft carrying the head, a head gear,said shaft being axially slidable through but rotatably fixed to saidgear, a single bottle carrier rotatably mounted to revolve about its ownaxis under said head, gear means between said ring gear, said head gearand said bottle carrier to rotate said head and said carrier in unisoneach about its own axis, a rod vertically reciprocable by said gearmeans, and lever means interconnecting said rod and said head shaft.

4. In a bottle capping unit adapted to be attached to a bottle fillingmachine having a horizontally rotatable table and a ring gear about thetable, a single capping head, a shaft carrying the head, a head gear,said shaft being axially slidable through but rotatably fixed to saidgear, a single bottle carrier rotatably mounted to revolve about its ownaxis under said head, gear means between said ring gear, said head gearand said bottle carrierto rotate said head and said carrier in unisoneach about its own axis, a rod vertically reciprocable by said gearmeans, and lever means interconnecting saidrod and said head shaft, anda collar adjustably carried on said head shaft receiving said levermeans.

5. In a bottle capping unit adapted to be attached to a bottle fillingmachine having a horizontally rotatable table and a ring gear about thetable, a single capping head, a shaft carrying the head, a head gear,said shaft being axially slidable through but rotatably fixed to saidgear, a single bottle carrier rotatably mounted to revolve about its ownaxis under said head, gear means between said ring gear, said head gearand said bottle carrier to rotate said head and said carrier in unisoneach about its own axis, a rod vertically reciprocable by said gearmeans, and lever means interconnecting said rod and said head shaft,said rod being yieldingly retractible in length.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JOHN J. GAYNOR.

